Matthew Beniers vs William Eklund

[Fatass]

It will be very interesting to see which of the two get drafted higher? Maybe McTavish goes ahead of both?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Toss a coin. One spot different on my list. Eklund has better offensive potential and hockey IQ. Beniers will stick at center, is bigger, and skates better.

 

[405Entrance]

It will be very interesting to see which of the two get drafted higher? Maybe McTavish goes ahead of both?

They’re going either 2-3 or 2-5. Mctavish isn’t going anywhere near the top 5

 

[lawrence]

You know better than Bob McKenzie who talked to actual NHL scouts and had them at 2 and 4?

NHL teams love players that are easily projectable like Beniers and Guenther.

bob had him at 2. Not surprised. Insane upside.

 

[UED]

Can't say I've seen them play and I certainly can't say I'm a credible hockey mind, but from pure stat watching Eklund is full of red flags, everywhere. He basically has all the potential red flags other than a high scoring linemate. 5'8", 1 year older than everyone else, struggles internationally, doesn't score many goals, and was a relative nobody before this season. However, he outscored Holtz on the same team. But even then Holtz had no progression from last year so he had a horrible year(heard he got injured and did terrible afterwards). I would personally stay away from Eklund unless I didn't like the rest of the available prospects either. Plus, in the best case scenario, not sure I'd want my star player to be 5'8"(Johnny Gaudreau), and I certainly wouldn't want my depth player to be 5'8"(Tyler Johnson). Doesn't mean he's gonna bust or isn't gonna become a flashier player than Beniers but I'd take Beniers before Eklund. Huge fan of his playstyle, don't know his potential.

 

[tomd]

It may come down to the perception that Beniers is going to be a clutch playoff performer whereas Eklund may outproduce him in the regular season. I think that gives the edge to Beniers.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

It may come down to the perception that Beniers is going to be a clutch playoff performer whereas Eklund may outproduce him in the regular season. I think that gives the edge to Beniers.

I think posts like these are jumping to conclusions that aren't necessarily there.

You can't infer from their play-styles that Eklund will be better in the regular reason while Beniers will be better in the playoffs.

 

[tomd]

I think posts like these are jumping to conclusions that aren't necessarily there.

You can't infer from their play-styles that Eklund will be better in the regular reason and Beniers will be better in the playoffs.

I said it is a perception given his performance at the u20 and that is undeniable. Eklund wasn't able to demonstrate that clutch ability due to covid. Teams are going to have to draft and project based on the sample size they've been able to observe. It's no coincidence that Beniers went from a top 10-15 prospect to a top 5 prospect following the u20 tourney.

 

[majormajor]

Can't say I've seen them play and I certainly can't say I'm a credible hockey mind, but from pure stat watching Eklund is full of red flags, everywhere. He basically has all the potential red flags other than a high scoring linemate. 5'8", 1 year older than everyone else, struggles internationally, doesn't score many goals, and was a relative nobody before this season. However, he outscored Holtz on the same team. But even then Holtz had no progression from last year so he had a horrible year(heard he got injured and did terrible afterwards). I would personally stay away from Eklund unless I didn't like the rest of the available prospects either. Plus, in the best case scenario, not sure I'd want my star player to be 5'8"(Johnny Gaudreau), and I certainly wouldn't want my depth player to be 5'8"(Tyler Johnson). Doesn't mean he's gonna bust or isn't gonna become a flashier player than Beniers but I'd take Beniers before Eklund. Huge fan of his playstyle, don't know his potential.

Eklund is listed at 5'10 at elite prospects.

You can compare Eklund's season to that of other players his age, not just compare it to his draft class. And he still comes off looking good. Here are the top scoring seasons by 18 year olds in the SHL over the last ten years. Among players that have played 20+ game seasons, he is behind only Nylander, Fiala, Lindholm, and Fagemo in terms of points per game. He is ahead of Zibanejad, Vrana, Holtz, and Raymond.

It's nothing eye popping but there are no red flags either.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Can't say I've seen them play and I certainly can't say I'm a credible hockey mind, but from pure stat watching Eklund is full of red flags, everywhere. He basically has all the potential red flags other than a high scoring linemate. 5'8", 1 year older than everyone else, struggles internationally, doesn't score many goals, and was a relative nobody before this season. However, he outscored Holtz on the same team. But even then Holtz had no progression from last year so he had a horrible year(heard he got injured and did terrible afterwards). I would personally stay away from Eklund unless I didn't like the rest of the available prospects either. Plus, in the best case scenario, not sure I'd want my star player to be 5'8"(Johnny Gaudreau), and I certainly wouldn't want my depth player to be 5'8"(Tyler Johnson). Doesn't mean he's gonna bust or isn't gonna become a flashier player than Beniers but I'd take Beniers before Eklund. Huge fan of his playstyle, don't know his potential.

He's not 5'8. He's 5'10.

I don't think relative age shouldn't be a factor when assessing picks, but you can't hold it against a player based on when in a year they are born. Thats simply stupid player assessment, and won't yield good results.

Where do you get the idea that he struggles internationally? Besides, it's pretty common that later birthdays don't star in international competition as much at an early age. It's a lot easier to make an impact at junior levels when you are born in January as opposed to October.

He also wasn't a relative nobody. He might've moved up since the start of the season, but calling him a relative nobody is ridiculous. He was considered the third big time Swedish forward in that 2002 age group. He might've had less hype than Holtz and Raymond, but he's had some hype even before this year.

 

[majormajor]

He's not 5'8. He's 5'10.

I don't think relative age shouldn't be a factor when assessing picks, but you can't hold it against a player based on when in a year they are born. Thats simply stupid player assessment, and won't yield good results.

I definitely factor in the relative ages but with Eklund, 99% of the players he's playing against are older than him, so it's really not much of a factor for him.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I definitely factor in the relative ages but with Eklund, 99% of the players he's playing against are older than him, so it's really not much of a factor for him.

Also, it’s usually only applicable as a negative for the players who pop up late on in the draft process that had little track record in prior seasons. That’s not Eklund. He was good when he was younger than other players born in 2002. He’s good when he’s older than most players in the 2021 draft. You can’t fault a good player for being one of the older players in a draft.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

I want Eklund in Detroit

So much Zetterberg in him

 

[bsu]

I want Eklund in Detroit

So much Zetterberg in him

I agree.

 

[Baaaaaaaaaaaaah]

I would take Eklund simply for upside. Both good looking responsible players, but Beniers' hands really bother me. Eklund's draft year stats are no joke in the SHL.